I truly do wish to know what’s inside you, my beautiful king…
- James Tyrrell, Requiem of the rose king
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t h e y s a y t h a t t h e l o v e l i e s t
a n g e l s m a k e
t h e c r u e l e s t d e m o n s a n d
m y d a r l i n g, y o u w e r e s o k i n d
a n d b e a u t i f u l b e f o r e
t h e y d r a g g e d y o u t o h e l l. [insp]
P A R T I I.
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P e o p l e s a y m o n s t e r s
d o n ’ t h a v e n i g h t m a r e s
o h b u t d a r l i n g
h o w d o y o u t h i n k m o n s t e r s a r e b o r n ? [insp]
P A R T I.
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Edward soliloquy
Alack! dearest Richard, my mortal thoughts
Whilst mine own blood cradles me with arms bound:
To men like us, fate is unkind, for we
Have no tongues to safeguard our innocence.[1]
“Tudors ride high in popular esteem.” [2]
Yet villain would I rather, bloodthirsty
Executioner be – by Gregory,
The defiler of his unwilling wife; [3]
By Martin, a bastard tyrant – than be [4]
A coward who fled the field and failed. Nay,
I fear not death, nor fly his deadly doom. [5]
Tarry I here – but life! Lo, your brothers’
Mercy spared my tongue; I cannot use it.
What wretchedness in Edward’s final hour!
Richard, I scorned and mocked you in the field
When I declared my house, my station, and
My sworn right to the crown as Henry’s sole
Heir, and air ‘twas, as my claim died that day
To York in the blood-soaked sod of defeat.
I smiled at you, yet I fear I played the
Devil’s part too well – Did you, Gloucester, think [6]
That proud, haughty Lancaster, Prince of Wales, [7]
Could only sneer at his grave enemy
And not with tenderness look on a friend,
Or spare Anne? My countenance is grim now.
I have no will to smile, nor jeer, but I
Beg thus – Grant one wish to your constant foe:
Hark, Richard! Heed me! Though fate be cruel, yea,
Love is kind; so too my Love for thee – !
…
[1] Both Richard III and Edward Lancaster have unfavorable reputations in the 21st century.
[2] Potter, Jeremy. Good King Richard? An Account of Richard III and his Reputation. London: Constable and Robinson, 1994.
[3] Edward rapes Anne in this historical fiction retelling. Gregory, Philippa. The Kingmaker’s Daughter. New York: Touchstone, 2013.
[4] Edward is perhaps the inspiration for Game of Thrones character Joffrey Baratheon. Martin, George R.R. A Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1. New York: Bantam, 2002.
[5] From The Two Gentlemen of Verona, act III, scene 1.
[6] Richard III is the Duke of Gloucester
[7] Edward Lancaster is the Prince of Wales
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